Other transformative proposals included in the plan include a major expansion of Hauppauge-based Amneal Pharmaceuticals, matching venture capital seed funding already secured through the Accelerate Long Island initiative for commercializing local research, establishing a collaboration between Stony Brook University and Brookhaven National Laboratory to set up a national center for energy research, development and manufacturing, creating a downtown transit hub in Hicksville with affordable housing, offices, labs, recreation and commercialization services under one roof for fledgling high-tech ventures, building a new cancer drug therapies testing lab at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, a public-private partnership between Hofstra University and Stony Brook University to boost the number of engineering graduates – dubbed EngINE – and establishing a network of local agencies, higher education and research institutions, businesses and other not-for-profits that would increase the number of students interest in careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics-related industries.

In total, the council is seeking $38.5 million from New York state this year for all 13 transformative projects, even thought the state has said it will only distribute $25 million at the most to any one region.

“There were so many projects that we wanted to highlight, so we decided to put them all in just to show what we’re capable of here on Long Island,” said Kevin Law, president of the Long Island Association and co-chair of the regional council along with Hofstra President Stuart Rabinowitz. “If we’re successful in winning, we may have to reprioritize our priorities in order to divide up the funding. We’re also hoping that other sources of funding, such as federal or private funds, becomes available for some of these projects.”

The council is also seeking $26.56 million in Excelsior job credits for 13 separate expansion projects of Long Island businesses that will create 3,799 jobs – most of which will be created by the expansion of G-Force Synergetics. While the council is seeking over $26 million in these Excelsior benefits, the state has limited the amount each region can receive to $15 million. That amount, coupled with the $25 million in cash funding for transformative projects, will make up the $40 million obtainable by any given region.

While Gov. Andrew Cuomo created 10 regions across the state to vie for $200 million in funding, only the top 4 regions will receive the maximum $40 million in state and Excelsior money. An additional $800 million will be distributed at a later date through the new Consolidated Funding Application on a project-by-project basis.

Regions that are not one of the top 4 will only receive about $6.67 million in total funding. A panel of five or six individuals will review each region’s proposal and submit a recommendation to Gov. Cuomo as to the top finalists. Selections will be made by mid-December, said Lt. Gov. Robert Duffy

“We’re currently finalizing who will be on the panel of reviewers,” Duffy said.

In addition to the transformative projects and Excelsior job proposals, the council also listed seven projects as those of regional significance, including the development of a Long Island Sound tunnel crossing, the redevelopment of the shuttered nuclear power plant in Shoreham into a renewable energy manufacturing site, the redevelopment of the Elmont/Belmont area including Belmont Racetrack, installing a double track for the Long Island Rail Road between Farmingdale and Ronkonkoma, the redevelopment of EPCAL in Calverton to include a freight facility, three projects to redevelop downtown Glen Cove and its waterfront and turning the Cerro Wire property in Syosset into an upscale mall.

“There were so many good projects that were submitted that we wanted to include them all,” Law said. “Of course we couldn’t, but these regionally significant projects represent projects that we may submit in coming years or that don’t require any state funding at all.

The council also singled out the Nassau Hub as an important project for Long Island’s future, although the co-chairs agreed the proposal was not far enough along to submit for funding at this time.

“The council is excitingly awaiting a new proposal with a developer,” Rabinowitz said. “We want to see something we could consider shovel ready; It’s not quite up to that yet, but it will be soon. We’re committed to working with the [Nassau] County executive to make sure that happens.”

Once a proposal comes together, Rabinowitz said the council would submit it to the state for possible funding. That, along with the regionally significant projects, could be submitted for funding as early as next year’s round of funding opportunities.

With the strategic plan fully adopted by the council, Law and Rabinowitz, along with the co-chairs of each of the other regional councils, must now travel to Albany Nov. 28 through 30 and plead their case for funding to the state panel designed to review each proposal.

Long Island was the last region to finalize its plan.

“It’s fitting that we’re the last one,” Law said, “because we’re going to be the first to get funding.”